Movieland- Antony and Cleopatra

The Movieland Wax Museum tableau featuring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the movie Cleopatra was one of the most popular in the museum. Based on the price her figure went for, there is no doubt that she was truly one of the most popular stars of her era. Here we see her on the throne as Cleopatra, queen of Egypt. Although it took some time for this 1963 motion picture to recoup its $44 million budget, it did eventually become a money maker for the studio.

Insert joke here. Taylor gave a "larger" than life performance.

Richard Burton as Mark Antony. His figure played second fiddle to Taylor's all the way up until the end of Movieland.

A clapboard sign that was the standard at movieland.

Elizabeth Taylor's wax figure sold at the Movieland auction for $25,000, while Burton's sold for a mere $5,000. The props sold for $1,500, and the set/stage sold for $200.

See even more wax museum pictures at Houses of Wax.

Tags: Movieland Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax Elizabeth Taylor Richard Burton Cleopatra

Hot n' Tot Coffee Shop

2347 Pacific Coast Highway, Lomita CA, 90717

I always love it when I see the sign for the Hot n' Tot Coffee Shop in Lomita. The building is actually not as interesting as the sign because it's covered in canopies. But the coolness of the sign makes up for it. Here we see the full sign in all its glory. Very mid-century.

The signage sans pole. As far as I can tell, the original building is from 1946, then it was remodeled in 1954, and I have no idea what improvements or addition were created since then.

The main sign up close, The font for the words "Coffee Shop" is very similar to that of J's Coffee Shop.

Tags: Hot Tot Coffee Shop Signage PCH Lomita

Movieland Wax Museum- Marx Brothers Then and Now

Over at my other blog, Houses of Wax, I just posted an article on Movieland Wax Museum's Animal Crackers set. The set was bought by a fan and carefully reassembled. There are several photos showing before and after images. Check it out here.

Tags: Movieland Wax Museum Wax Figure Wax Marx Brothers

Big Shoe Repair

931 Chester Ave Bakersfield, CA 93301

There's much to say about roadside Vernacular Architecture, and the Big Shoe Repair building in Bakersfield California sums it all up in a single picture (Although I'll include three). It is unfortunate that vandals think the building makes a better graffiti canvas than a piece of art. The poor quality of the cover ups also distract from the beauty of the building. But even so, one can't help but admire the originality of the architecture.

A close up of the top of the building. Rope makes a nice shoelace. I wasn't expecting the building to maintain this special detail, but was pleasantly surprised at its appearance.

From another angle the graffiti doesn't look as imposing. I'm so glad this artifact from the 1940's still remains for now. (Although these shots are from 2006)

Tags:Architecture Bakersfield Big Shoe Building Googie